Towel dispensing cabinet



April 19, 1938. P. D. PARsoNs 2,114,935

'- TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Filed Sept. 12, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l A ril19, 1938.

D. PARSONS TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Filed Sept. 12, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet2 P 31 411502.? 647 44%fizg:

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10 a cabinet of this type of generally improved conwhen the cabinet isclosed slides under the flange Patented Apr. 19, 1938 2,114,935

STTES PATENT OFFIQE TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Philip D. Parsons,Swarthmore, Pa., assignor to Scott Paper Company, Chester, Pa., 21.corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 12,1926, Serial No.100,563

4 Claims. (01. 3129-62) This invention relates to towel cabinets of athe back plate I and which is shaped to more or type adapted moreparticularly for paper towels less neatly receive the towel packindicated in and from which the towels may be individually Fig. 2 by thereference numeral 5. In the preswithdrawn for use. More specifically,the invenent instance, the back plate I is formed at its 5' tion relatesto a type of cabinet wherein the upper and side edges with forwardlyprojecting individual towels are supported in vertical planes flanges 6and I which when the cabinet is closed and are withdrawn through asuitably formed fit into the top and sides of the casing member 3.aperture in the forward face of the cabinet. Secured to the inside ofthe top wall of the A principal object of the invention is to providecasing 3 is a spring latch -8 the free end of which struction, which maybe manufactured economi- 6. The flange 6 has a depressed boss 9 which is10 cally from sheet metal, is efficient in operation, adapted to fitinto an aperture H in t e at 8 and which presents a desirably neatappearance. to thereby 100k vthe Casing 3 in the v d Another object ofthe invention is to provide in Closed p s o This latch y e e ed to acabinet of the stated type an improved form permit e e t of he Casingmember 3 to the 15 of device for exerting pressure at the back of pres er p n po i i y means f pressure the towel pack required to maintain thepack exerted upon'abutto-n i2 which projects from the and the individualtowels in position for ready face of the latch and through an p e 3 inithdr l from th bin t the top Wall of the casing 3. As shown in Figs.

A more specific object of the present inven- 1 and 3, the front Wall Ofthe casing 3 iS provided tion is to provide a pressure device that isthrown with an elongated opening t throu h which i t r ti automaticallyby 1; closing of access may be had to the towels within the cabithecabinet and which when the cabinet is opened net and through Which theSaid towels y be is permitted to occupy an inoperative position atindividually Withdrawn e front or apertured a the back of the cabinetwherein it offers no ob- Wall Of the Casing 3 is we outwardly fmm 0struction to the charging of the cabinet with a the er and lower ed esto t e ed es of the fresh supply of towels. V aperture Still anotherobject is to provide a novel and The towel pack 5 consists Of a numberof towels improved form of latching means for normally arranged onebehind the other and so individually retaining the cabinet in the closedcondition. foldedlthat their upper and lower edges l5 and Still anotherObject is to combine with this it pro ect into the aperture I4, theseedges therelatch the function of actuating the pressure deby being a s il for w h w n th owels i in th manner t forth above from the cabinetthrough said aperture. When The inventionfurther resides in certainnovel the Cabinet is Open as OWn n Fig. 2, this towel structuralfeatures and details hereinafter de- P y be readily pp into the v y of 3scribed and illustrated in the attached drawings, h casing 3, d when thecabinet is closed, the

in which; towels rest in vertical position upon a plurality of "Figure 1is a m, View in perspective of h 'ribs H, which in the present instanceare pressed cabinet; 1 up from the bottom wall of the casing member 3.

M F 2 is a from; View in perspective showing In order to maintain thetowel pack at the front 40 th b t open f charging t a upply of of thecabinet and against the front wall, particutowels; larly aftera numberof the towels have been with- Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Fig.'1; drawn, it is necessary to provide means for exert- Fig. 4 is asimilar sectional view showing the ing pressu e o t y against he back ofthe cabinet partly open and illustrating the operation pack. To t end, Iprovide pressure Plate 18 45 of the pressure device, and which issecured by means of a hinge pin l9 be- Fig. 5 is a detached perspectiveview of the tween lugs 2L2 projecting inwardly from the pressure plateassembly. back plate-l adjacent the upper edge of the lat- Withreference to the drawings, the cabinet in ter. In the present instance,these lugs 2| are a preferred embodiment comprises two principal formedintegrally with the back plate l by press- 5 parts-or-complementaryelements consisting reh P rtions of the latter. One of these luspectively of a back plate l, which is adapted to is-formed with asingle aperture, While the other besecured against a wall surface bymeans for -lug, shown at the left in Fig. 2, is provided at its exampleof screws 2, and a casing member 3 which forward side with a slot 22which terminates at is attached by hinges 4,4 to the lower edge of itsinner end in an aperture of suitable size to 55 accommodate the pin I9.Originally the slot 22 is sufficiently wide to permit the pin I9 beingpassed therethrough into the terminal aperture, and in assem ling thepressure plate I8 with the back plate I, one end of the cotter pin I9 ispassed through the aperture in the one lug 2i, and the other end ispassed through the slot 22 in the aperture in the other lug 2|, afterwhich the portions of the latter lug at opposite sides of the slot 22are forced together by pressure sufficiently to retain the pin inposition. Subsequently if it is necessary to detach the pressure plateI8, the cotter pin I9 may be withdrawn longitudinally from the aperturesof the two lugs. By this means, the pressure plate I8 is suspended fromthe pin I9 and normally occupies a position substantially fiat againstthe back plate I, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4. It will be noted thatthe pressure plate I8 is provided at each side with a rearwardlyextending flange through which the pivot pin I9 extends, and that theupper end of each of these flanges is beveled, as indicated at 20, topermit the lower end of the pressure plate to swing outwardly away fromthe back plate I and to thereby assume an angular position with respectto the plane of the latter.

The pin I9 supports a coiled spring 23 the extremities of which areextended and lie against the rear face of the pressure plate, Centrallythereof the spring 23 is provided with two upstanding loops 24, 24, andthe upper edge of the pressure plate I8 is cut away at 25 to expose theupper ends of the said spring loops 24. The loops 24 are formed at anangle approaching 90 to the extremities of the spring, which aspreviously described lie at the back of the pressure plate I8, and withthe loops 24 engaging the edge of the aperture 25, and the extremitiesof the spring engaging the back of the plate I8, the spring is thus heldnormally under tension. Also the loops 24 of the spring projectforwardly at an angle away from the plane of the back plate I.

It is apparent that if under these conditions the upper ends of theloops 24 are forced back towards the back plate I, the pressure plateI8, by reason of the pressure against the back thereof of theextremities of the spring, will be swung on the pivot pin I9 away fromthe back plate I. When the casing 3 is moved up into the closedposition, the flanged extremity of the latch 8 passing through therecess 25 of the pressure plate I8 engages the loops 24, 24 of thespring and forces the loops rearwardly toward the back plate I, andthereby swings the lower end of the pressure plate forwardly against theback of the towel pack 5, and the pressure of the plate I8 against thetowel pack is maintained by reason of the resiliency of the spring 23.The pressure plate I8 thus functions to exert resilient pressure againstthe towel pack forcing the edges forwardly in the cabinet and againstthe apertured front wall. The forward or outward slant of this frontwall, previously described, above and below the aperture I4 permits thefree edges I5 and I6 of the towels to project slightly through theaperture so that they may be readily grasped for withdrawal of thetowels from the cabinet. The relative positions of the various partsdescribed above are clearly shown in Fig. 3. It will be noted now thatthe pressure plate I8 is forced away from its normal depending positionat the back of the cabinet into an operative position with respect tothe towel pack only when the cabinet is closed, and that movement of thecasing 3 toward the open position, as shown in Fig. 4, by releasing thepressure on the loops 24, 24 of the spring permits the plate I8 toassume a normally depending position in the back of the cabinet asillustrated. When, therefore, the cabinet is fully opened as shown inFig. 2, the pressure plate I8 occupies a position offering noobstruction to the insertion or withdrawal of towels in and from thecasing 3. While in the present instance the latch 8 performs the doublefunction of a locking element and a keeper for the spring 23, it isapparent that by slight modification the latter function may be removedfrom the latch and imposed upon a separate element secured to the casingmember. There may be other modifications without departure from theinvention.

I claim:

1. A dispensing cabinet for towels comprising a casing having a rearsection adapted to be secured against a wall surface, and a forwardcasing section hinged to the bottom of said rear section and movable onsaid hinges between an upright closed. position and a substantiallyhorizontal open position, said casing section having in its forward wallan aperture affording access for withdrawal of the towels from thecabinet, a pressure member movably mounted on said rear casing sectionand adapted normally to occupy a retracted position on the latter, aspring also mounted on the rear casing section and operativelyassociated with said pressure member for resiliently urging said membertoward an extended position and against the towels to thereby supportthe towels in a vertical position in the forward casing section andagainst said apertured wall, said spring being normally inoperative andpermitting said member to assume the retracted position when the casingis open, to thereby permit unobstructed access to the front casingsection for replenishing the supply of towels therein and means on saidforward casing section automatically operative when the casing is closedto actuate the spring to urge the pressure plate toward an extendedposition and against the towels.

2. A dispensing cabinet for towels comprising a casing having a rearsection adapted to be secured against a wall surface, and a forwardcasing section movable between open and closed positions with respect tosaid rear section, said forward casing section having an aperture in itsfront wall affording access for withdrawal of the towels from thecabinet, means for locking said sections in the closed position, a pivotpin mounted transversely in the upper part of said rear casing section,a pressure member suspended from said pivot pin and normally occupying aretracted position on the said rear section, a spring mounted on saidpivot pin and adapted to exert pressure against said pressure member tourge the latter away from the rear casing section and against the towelsto urge the latter toward the apertured wall of said casing, said springbeing normally inoperative and permitting said pressure member to assumeits normal retracted position, and said means having a portion carriedby the forward casing section for operatively engaging the springwhereby when the lock is operated to retain the casing sections togetherthe said spring is automatically actuated to resiliently force thepressure member away from the rear section of the casing and intooperative engagement with the towels.

3. A dispensing cabinet for towels comprising a casing havingcomplementary front and rear sections, said rear section being adaptedto be secured against a wall surface, and said front section beingrelatively movable with respect to the rear section to open and closethe casing, a flange projecting forwardly from the upper edge of saidrear section, a latching element carried by the front section andarranged for engagement with the under side of said flange to lock thesections together in closed position, said front section having in thefront wall thereof an aperture affording access for withdrawal of thetowels from the casing, a pivot pin supported at the top of said rearsection, a pressure plate suspended from said pivot pin, a springcarried by said pivot pin and adapted to exert pressure at the rear ofsaid pressure plate to urge the latter away from the rear casing sectionand against the towels to force the towels toward the said aperturedwall, said spring being normally inoperative and permitting saidpressure plate to occupy a normal retracted position on the rear casingsection, and said spring having upstanding portions exposed at the topof said plate, which portions when forced rearwardly toward the rearcasing section cause the spring to exert pressure against the said plateto urge the latter resiliently away from said rear casing member andagainst the towels, and said spring portions being located in the pathof said latching element and being forced by the latter rearwardly whenthe casing sections are brought together in the closed position tothereby actuate the spring to extend the pressure plate.

4. A dispensing cabinet for towels comprising rear and frontcomplementary casing sections relatively movable between open and closedpositions, the forward casing section having in a wall thereof anaperture affording access for withdrawal of the towels from the cabinet,and means on the rear casing section for exerting pressure against thetowels to force the latter toward said apertured wall, said meanscomprising a pivot pin and a pressure element suspended from said pin, apair of apertured lugs for reception of said pin, one of said lugshaving a slot extending from the edge of the lug inwardly to saidaperture and of sufiicient width to admit the said pin therethrough tothe aperture, and the portions of said lug at the opposite sides of theslot being adapted to be forced together after the pin has beenintroduced into the aperture to thereby prevent retraction of the pinthrough the slot, and a spring operatively associated with said plateand adapted to resiliently force the said plate against the towels.

PHILIP D. PARSONS.

